


One Soft Touch To The Lips

by deductress



Series: Colours in a World of Grey [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Autism, Autism Spectrum, Gaang, Jetko, M/M, adorkable Zuko, autistic!Zuko, sensory issues, sensory processing disorder
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-03
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-01-21 18:38:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1560173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deductress/pseuds/deductress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zuko had always been set apart from the rest of society, almost straight from birth, but maybe all the bad experiences could actually lead to something good for once in his life? Modern day AU/autistic!Zuko. Jetko. Gaang.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Outcasts Sticking Together

**Author's Note:**

> This will be a multi-chaptered story following Zuko's experiences in coping with autism, and his interaction with the people around him. It is all in the same timeline, however will not lead chronologically - instead will jump from one experience to another. Suggestions welcome.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jet's sudden obsession with Zuko takes a surprising turn when he walks in on the other boy curled up and humming to himself in the Quiet Room.

At first Jet found Zuko’s urge to press his lips against soft materials a tad odd, then after about five seconds that notion passed and all Jet could think was, _he is too cute to be real_.  
Before they’d started dating, Jet and Zuko had started off on the wrong foot – Jet had made some scathing remark about Katara and her sniffling (still bitter about her earlier rejection) and Zuko had jumped to his friend’s defence, getting in Jet’s face and demanding he apologise immediately or Zuko would make him regret it. Of course a challenge like that couldn’t be ignored and it wasn’t long after the two boys were swinging fists and dodging kicks as their friends pulled them apart. 

Zuko had practically been spitting at Jet, claiming him “spineless” for attempting to dishonour his friend and then insulting her when she rebuffed his advances – all in all Jet had to admit, he was impressed. This pale, dark-haired boy, with his intimidating scowl and even more frightening scar was one of the first people to stand up against him and actually hold his own, but Jet couldn’t help but notice that not once did Zuko make full eye contact with him, instead choosing to glare at his shoulder or forehead.

Almost immediately Jet became obsessed, and he set about making amends – apologising to Katara and promising the group he was a changed guy, he was trying to move away from his street fighting days and actually maybe get an education and a decent career. Bee and Long, bless them, did their best to convince the others that what Jet was claiming was true, and they had seen themselves how he was trying to improve himself and put his past behind him. The group were suspicious of him, none more so than Zuko – who knew little more about Jet than his relations with Katara, in fact he probably knew the least about Jet in the group, considering he was the newest member – yet he remained wary of the tanned boy, always glowering in his direction whenever he passed by.

This didn’t deter Jet, but despite his continuing efforts to befriend Zuko nothing seemed to work, and still Zuko’s eyes would never meet his own.

Until the day he found Zuko curled up in the corner of the Prayer/Quiet Room, the lights out and only the dim street lights from outside filtering through the half-closed blinds providing any illumination. Jet regularly hid away in the Prayer Room when classes were beginning to get on his nerves, or more specifically certain teachers – gave him a chance to have a nap with no risk of being bothered. The door hadn’t even been locked when Jet entered, who was he to know Zuko was already in here? (Of course had he looked at the sign on the front of the door he would have seen the words ‘IN USE’ but Jet didn’t have time to read petty signs.)

Zuko was curled up in the farthest corner, head resting on his drawn up knees and arms wrapped around himself protectively, he was humming quietly and looked to be shivering – he hadn’t seemed to notice Jet’s arrival.

At this point Jet had two options, quietly leave the room and never mention what he saw, or, ask if the boy was okay and try to help him. Jet knew any help he offered would be immediately rejected but _hey, can’t blame a guy for trying_.

“Zuko?” Jet questioned softly, but as soft as his tone was Zuko still instantly stiffened and jerked his head up, eyes wide in surprise and cheeks turning an alarming shade of red in embarrassment.

“What the hell are you doing here!?! Get out!” Zuko demanded, shakily getting to his feet and taking a defensive position across from Jet, however Jet couldn’t help but notice how… vulnerable Zuko looked, he looked pale and sickly yet determination shone as strong as ever in his amber eyes.

“I’m sorry, I come here all the time and I didn’t check to see if anyone else was using it and… Are you okay?” Jet’s rushed explanation came to a concerned halt when he saw Zuko shudder and scrunch his eyes closed.

“Yes, now please leave,” Zuko shot out, rolling his shoulders and shaking his head jerkily, trying to remain standing tall and proud, but it seemed he was fighting a losing battle and Jet watched as Zuko quickly found himself pushing up against his corner and sliding down to the floor, arms cocooning himself defensively.

It seemed either Zuko has assumed Jet had left, or he had more important matters to be concerned with and Jet had been taken out of the equation. Jet knew he should follow Zuko’s plea and leave the room – leave him to his privacy, but he just couldn’t. He knew something was seriously wrong with Zuko and he just couldn’t leave the other boy all on his own like this.

If it had been Bee or Long, Jet would have marched over and pulled the other into a tight hug, if it had been someone who was more of an acquaintance, say Katara or her dorky brother, he would have rested a hand on their shoulder in an offer of comfort, but somehow Jet knew his touch wouldn’t be welcomed by this boy.

Instead, Jet got to his knees a few paces in front of Zuko and asked simply, “How can I help?”

Zuko had slowly raised his head and proceeded to stare at Jet liked he’d never seen him before, “W-what?” he asked hoarsely, his low rumbling tone warming Jet to his core.

“What do you need? What can I do, or get you?” Jet offered, “Look I know something’s not right, and you don’t have to tell me what because I know you don’t like me, and I know I’m a total ass, but I don’t want to leave you like this when maybe I could help you somehow.”

And finally, finally, Zuko’s eyes met his – for only an instant before Zuko turned his vision back down to the floor and muttered, “Could you get me something soft please?”  
“Soft, sure, what kind of soft?” Jet questioned, confusion at the request causing his eyebrows to drop in a frown.

“Like, a cushion, or a piece of clothing, even a scrap of material, just something really soft…” Zuko whispered out, a hint of shame and embarrassment colouring his tone as he hid his burning face back behind his arms, obviously this was taking a lot for Zuko to admit this weakness and to accept Jet’s help, and he wasn’t about to throw it back in his face by questioning his plea.

Jet considered where he might find such a thing for a moment, before his eyes fell to his scarf – tied around his wrist. It had been a gift from Bee, it was made from a soft thick material of good quality, and Jet knew it had cost Bee a reasonable amount to buy. He quickly untied it before shyly offering it to Zuko, “I dunno if this’ll help, but it’s pretty soft… And don’t worry, it is clean.”

Zuko stared at the accessory for a moment, before slowly reaching out and taking it into his own grip – he ran his thumb over it, and seemed to come to a silent decision with himself as he brought it to his lips and ran it across them.

A mix of shock, confusion and general ‘what the fuck’ hit Jet all at once but passed in a matter of seconds and was replaced with a sudden wave of affection and warmth as he heard Zuko let out a little hum in content, a tiny smile lighting up his face.

Jet sat silently and watched as Zuko continued gently rubbing the fabric against his lips, he watched as the tension leaked away from Zuko’s shoulders, he watched at the stress pulling at Zuko’s eyebrows ebbed away, he watched as Zuko finally seemed to relax and melt against the wall behind his back.

After a couple more minutes, Zuko pulled the fabric away from his face – his actions seemingly catching up with him as his face burnt red once more, “I’m sorry,” he stuttered nervously, _adorably_ Jet’s mind added, “I’ll wash this immediately, o-or I could buy you a new one, oh god…” he blabbered in embarrassment.

“Hey it’s cool, I presume you don’t have any infectious diseases so it should be all good, right?” Jet grinned widely, his grin slipping when Zuko stared back at him in bewilderment, “Uh, don’t worry about it, okay?” he concluded as he took the scarf back from the other boy and quickly re-tied it back around his wrist.

Suddenly a nervous tension seemed to fill the room and neither boy seemed able to look at the other confidently, “I-“ Zuko stammered, ducking his head, “What you saw-“  
“Hey,” Jet stopped him, “It’s none of my business, right? Like I said, I couldn’t just leave you like that. But you’re feeling better right? So I can just leave now and we can never mention this again. I promise I won’t tell anyone what I saw, alright?”

For the second time in one day Zuko met Jet’s eyes for a moment, before they drifted to the side and a timid smile curled at the corners of Zuko’s mouth, “Thank you. That’s gracious of you, but you deserve an explanation,” biting his lip Zuko stalled, before steeling his nerve and raising his eyes to stare intently at Jet’s forehead once again, “I have autism… What just happened… I had a meltdown. They don’t happen a lot and this took me by surprise, it’s the first time I’ve had one at school – normally at home I’ve got my comfort box to calm myself back down, but I don’t have anything here and all I could think to do was hide away in here…” he trailed off softly, “I could have been in here a long time actually, but you helped, a lot. So, thank you.”

After that admission, Jet could do no more than smile fondly at the other boy, adoration pulling at his heart, and wonderfully, Zuko smiled back.

\---

Five months later and both the boys were lying reclined on Jet’s bed, Zuko resting atop Jet’s chest. It had taken a further two months for Zuko to accept Jet’s advances, however Jet had made sure the entire time to give Zuko his space and not pressure him towards anything he might not like. Instead he had tried his best to romance the soft-spoken boy and make him smile whenever he could, and it turned out hearing Zuko laugh was the ultimate cherry on top.

Zuko brushed the soft, well-worn material of Jet’s t-shirt over his lips and hummed contently, “You like that, huh?” Jet asked softly, smiling at his boyfriend’s actions.

Zuko sent a little smile his boyfriend’s way before gripping the fabric tighter and pushing his face up against Jet’s chest, giving the dual sensation of having Jet’s body heat and heartbeat near him, along with the addictive and soothing material of the t-shirt against his skin.

It had been five months of watching Zuko press soft materials against his lips to comfort himself, and yet every time the soft ball of affection and tenderness that rose inside Jet never faded, only grew stronger each time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is literally my first attempt at writing (anything i've chosen to publish online) in about eight years? So i would appreciate any constructive critism people may have.
> 
> I have actually written many more of these autistic!Zuko AUs, some modern day, some set in the original timeline, some of Jetko, some with Gaang only, some with only Zuko. If it turns out someone actually likes this, then i shall post some more. I'm also happy to take suggestions if anyones got any.
> 
> And i'm sure there's more than a few people out there going, huh, wait, Zuko has autism? wtf? So yeah, obviously Zuko doesn't have autism, but i don't know - there's always just been something about Zuko which i think suggests at hints of autism, his natural social awkwardness, his dislike of social interaction, his dislike of being touched, his understanding of a lot of stuff seems rather delayed too - no matter he's obviously an intelligent guy. I don't know, maybe i'm just trying to create a character i can relate to but hey, that's the wonder of fiction right?


	2. New Homes, New Understandings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko's at a new school and a new home, he's not coping well - at least he's got his Uncle Iroh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for use of the R-word, i understand many people find that a very unpleasant word to hear/read.

“I’m fine Uncle, I’m sorry for disturbing you during your meditation,” Zuko apologised, sitting stiffly on his bed trying to stop himself from reaching out to his duvet cover and running his fingers over it to sooth himself – he couldn’t be seen to be so weak in front of his Uncle, Father hated seeing Zuko being so pathetic so surely the same would be of Uncle?

“Do not apologise nephew, I just feared something was wrong when I heard you slam your door…?” Iroh hedged, knowing Zuko had expressed a teenager outburst of anger but seemed unwilling to admit he’d done such an immature act, the stubbornness alone had Iroh suppressing a grin.

“Nothing is wrong, I’m sorry for slamming the door Uncle, it was an accident, I’ll be more careful next time,” Zuko’s speech began to rush together and he held himself together as tightly as he could, keeping a straight politely apologetic face and showing nothing else though inside he was a tangled knot of emotions which were getting closer to brimming the surface – _unacceptable_ , his father scolded him in his mind, _do not behave in such a disgraceful manner_.

Iroh seemed to detect something in his nephew’s tone, this wasn’t a simple teenagers temper tantrum, something was seriously wrong with the boy – he was genuinely upset, “What’s wrong my boy? Did something happen at school?”

“Nothing happened Uncle, please… Please just leave me alone,” Zuko urged, gripping the duvet tightly in his fists as his shoulders painfully tensed in an attempt to restrain himself from what his mind was screaming at him to do.

“Zuko? Please, if you need someone to talk to, I am here-”

“Uncle, just leave!” Zuko begged, restraint almost completely slipping as he clamped his teeth around his tongue, viciously biting it so the pain would bring him some clarity.  
Father would have left long ago by now – well in all honesty he wouldn’t have approached in the first place, Zuko was not used to having to put this much effort into dissuading someone from being around him, usually people couldn’t wait to get away from him, and it was taking its toll, sapping away at his remaining emotional barriers.

Zuko expected his Uncle to leave the room after he shouted at him, possibly angry with him for being so rude and ungrateful – rightly so – but instead his Uncle moved closer to Zuko, concern and worry swimming in his eyes and he asked, “What is wrong Zuko?”

The dam broke.

Zuko choked on a low sob, before pulling himself up the bed until his back met the wall, curling up and humming disjointedly – head cradled in his arms he began to rock, everything had become too much. Too much noise, too much people, too much staring, too much judgement, too much touching, just everything too much – and nobody seemed to understand how much it hurt his head to have all this too much in it. His skin felt like it didn’t fit right – it was moving with hundreds of little bugs under it, and his back shivered compulsively at the feeling of wrong tugging at his brain. He needed something to ground him, to help clean out the wrong and the too much and replace it with one thing to focus on, one right thing.

As he hummed and rocked, Zuko began furiously tapping his fingers against his knees, needing some kind of release – he’d almost totally forgotten his Uncle was still in the room when he felt his arm being pulled away – _wrong, touch bad, too much_ – and his hand being placed on top of something gloriously soft and good. Immediately he began petting the soft thing with both hands as he uncurled and pulled it closer to his body – it was a faux fur cushion, but oh was it wonderful. The sensations were perfect, it was just the right level of smoothness, and it was slightly chilled – instantly Zuko dropped his lips to the cushion and just rested them there for a few moments, basking in the feeling of completeness and satisfaction, the pressure under his skin slowly ebbing away and the noise in his head dying out. He couldn’t but help the tiny noises of contentment he made, humming lightly as he hugged the cushion close.

Iroh watched the entire incident without comment, glad to see his nephew calmed and relaxed once more, “Does that feel better nephew?” he asked kindly. 

Blushing, Zuko re-opened his eyes and glanced towards his Uncle, “Yes, thank you Uncle. I’m sorry for behaving so… disgracefully. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again in your presence,” Zuko spoke lowly, shame colouring his tone.

“What on earth are you talking about Zuko? It is not disgraceful to express how you cope with stress. It is merely my job to watch over you and ensure you are getting the help and comfort you need during such times of upset, such as any caregiver should do,” Iroh had hoped to cheer up his nephew but the words seemed to only worsen the boy’s mood, “Your father, did he not do the same?”

“No…” Zuko whispered, “He told me I needed to get over my little _problem_ and learn how to deal with things like a man. He told me I needed to stop acting so dishonourably and not show the world how retarded I really am…"  


A rush of fury hit Iroh all at once, a sudden need to shake some sense into his brother and give him a good hit on the head for all the damage he’d done to this lovely boy before him – convincing him his disability made him less of a person, and that by expressing his feelings to anyone else he was acting shamefully. Iroh knew Ozai had never been a nice man, but to cause such pain and internal torture in his own son?

“Well, your father is misguided and incorrect Zuko. Your difficulties do not make you any less of a man, if anything they only reflect how strong you really are, to deal with such struggles and yet still come through each day working harder than ever before. If you ever feel that way again Zuko, do not hesitate to come to me, I will do my best to help you feel less strained again,” Iroh promised, smiling kindly at his dear nephew as Zuko bowed his thanks.

“Thank you Uncle, but, how did you know what to do?” Zuko suddenly wondered – how did Uncle realise what Zuko needed? How did he even understand what was wrong with Zuko?

Iroh chuckled lightly, “You forget nephew, I’ve known you since you were a tiny baby. I’ve helped you through many meltdowns before, but you were possibly too young to remember any of this – this cushion was actually your favourite, you’d always cling to it to comfort yourself whenever you felt bad when you were very young. Your father took it away from you but I kept a hold of it, felt it would be useful in the future, and evidently I was right,” he grinned, “While we are discussing this, are there any other comforts I should keep around the house for similar situations as this one in the future?”

Zuko ducked his head shyly before nodding, “I find the smell of cinnamon very soothing, and I like materials that are slightly chilled to touch – blankets are the best, especially if they’re heavy, I like being wrapped in something thick and heavy, the pressure against my skin feels really good…”

“Excellent, I’m ensure to get those things kept around the house should they be needed any time soon. Now,” Iroh clapped his hands together, signalling the end of the topic of conversation, “How about we have some of my new blend of tea and sit down and watch some TV together? Or how about a movie? I believe I am right in saying my nephew has a guilty pleasure for old Jackie Chan movies?” Iroh teased.

Zuko smiled in relief, beyond grateful to have such a caring and loving Uncle – maybe living here won’t be so bad, he’ll still have to work hard at re-gaining his father’s approval, but maybe in the meantime he could finally take a break from hiding and feeling ashamed, and instead actually just enjoy the softness beneath his fingers, the scent of jasmine tea in the air, the sound of his Uncle’s laugh, maybe for a while Zuko can just be… Zuko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So first-off, thank you for all the kudos/reviews so far, i really appreciate it! I honestly didn't think i'd hear anything so it's good to know people are actually interested in what i'm writing.
> 
> Secondly, i've decided to lay out this series as so: 'One Soft Touch to the Lips' will be a multi-chaptered story set as a modern day AU in which Zuko has diagnosed autism, it's all gonna be in the same timeline but i'm not gonna write the chapters chronologically, i'm gonna jump from point to point in Zuko's experiences. This story will include a Jet/Zuko relationship and hopefully plenty of loving Iroh and Gaang besties. I'm later going to add a second part in the series which will focus on original ATLA timeline, where Zuko is autistic but in such an age/time things like that weren't recognised and so on.
> 
> Also, i based Zuko's cushion off mine - i go crazy for it's texture and can't help hugging it when i'm stressed.
> 
> Any advice, suggestions and constructive critisms are happily welcome.


	3. Friends, Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko meets the Gaang, except making friends isn't something Zuko's particularly good at. Part one.

Being forced to move schools, and move from private schooling to public was like a kick in the balls for Zuko. His first week had been unbearably painful, with everyone’s constant judgemental and morbidly curious stares directed his way – one person had even had the gall to approach him and ask how he got the scar. It had taken a lot of restraint to not punch that guy in the nose and instead just suck in a calming breath, turn on his heel and walk away head held high. Well maybe not so high, Zuko found he had been wearing a lot more hoodies recently, with the hoods up, but apparently that still wasn’t enough to deter people from trying to get a glimpse of his face. Not one person had approached him just to say ‘hello’, but Zuko was fine and dandy with being left alone. At least it was quiet, there were no annoying distractions and he didn’t have to constantly monitor other people’s faces or actions to see if he was responding correctly to their conversations. When he was alone Zuko was at peace, he could concentrate on his school work, practice his martial arts and hopefully, in time, he would be able to re-gain his father’s respect and return home.

No matter how relaxed he may be feeling while living with his Uncle. He never realised it was acceptable to just sit and watch TV; father had always demanded he be studying, or working. Though admittedly, he did allow Zuko his meditation. But just getting to sit, watch crappy TV and make mocking comments at the characters on the screen with his Uncle was… nice. It was new. As was having someone to speak to that didn’t judge him or look down on him, or worse, pity him. Uncle just spoke to him as if he was normal, he didn’t have any expectations and he didn’t constantly worry that one touch or one word would set Zuko off into a meltdown. He treated Zuko with respect and allowed him freedoms he had never been granted before. 

Despite all this, Zuko couldn’t help feeling slightly lonely. While he may not have had friends at his previous school (Azula having scared them all off long ago), his sister’s friends Mai and Ty Lee had become a comforting constant presence, and to lose them so abruptly was disorientating. He missed Mai’s smirks, and her sighs. He could even go as far as to say he missed Ty Lee’s acrobatics, and her constant optimism. It had become routine to see them, and speak to them, and now he just felt bereft. 

Zuko had expected it to stay that way until the day he saved a cat from being run over. That was the day everything changed, for the better.

Zuko had been walking home from school, listening to his own music, his eyes trained on the pavement below his feet when he saw a blur rush past him. He looked up to see a brown and white cat darting about the pavement, its movement’s quick and jerky. Putting his music on pause, Zuko watched in amusement as the cat jumped from fence to wall to pavement to tree, miaow-ing absentmindedly to itself the entire way. Zuko had always preferred animals to humans, animals didn’t deceive you, they didn’t manipulate you or try to confuse you – they were blunt and straight to the point; ‘I want food’, ‘let me have that toy’, ‘I want to be petted’. And that was ideal for Zuko, so due to the fact – Zuko had always been drawn towards animals and found they tended to like him equally in return. Zuko had been about to approach the cat and offer him a pet when the cat was frightened by a dog barking from its kennel in one of the gardens the cat had been bouncing about in – the cat screeched before rushing straight onto the road, into the path of an oncoming car.

There was no thought process to it; Zuko sprinted on to the road, grabbing the cat with lightning reflexes and throwing himself in the opposite direction in order to avoid the vehicle which was now slamming its brakes on in late reaction – the cat held tightly against his chest as he slammed into the hard concentrate pavement, knocking the wind from his lungs.

For the first few moments, everything felt like a blur – noise and colours being lost in a void as Zuko tried to gain his bearings once more, wincing at the various bruises he could feel blooming throughout his body in response to the harsh treatment it had just been given. Eventually a cry of worry cut through his muddled mind, “Momo! Oh my god!”  
Zuko looked up to see a group of five people running towards him – one boy, bald with odd blue tattoos, a small girl who walked with a stick, two dark-skinned people who looked similar possibly brother and sister, and a final brunette girl who wore thick make-up around her eyes.

The cat in his arms was nervously twitching from side to side and Zuko released his hold on the animal, allowing it to slip from his arms and rush towards the bald boy, jumping on to his head and allowing the boy to crush him into a hug and coo over him frantically. 

Immediately the boy ran over to Zuko, offering him a hand up which Zuko ignored as he pulled himself back to his feet, dusting his clothes off and groaning in dismay at the sight of tears in his new jeans, “Oh my god, thank you so much for saving Momo! You actually saved his life! You’re like a superhero! A cat-saving superhero!” the boy enthused.

Zuko wasn’t sure how to respond to such enthusiasm and choose to just nod, “It’s all right, I didn’t want to see him hurt. Glad he’s alright,” he paused, glancing at the cat – Momo – and made to re-cross the street again.

“Hey! Hey wait! You can’t just go, you nearly died!” the boy exclaimed in shock.

The dark skinned girl chose that moment to step forward also, “What he means to say is – are you alright? You look like you hit the ground hard, do you need to go to hospital and get checked over?” she asked kindly.

“No, I’m fine, thank you,” Zuko replied quickly – he had always been taught pain was weakness, and admitting weakness was the single worst thing you could do, you never knew how someone might use that information against you. Or that was what father said anyway.

“Oh I’m so sorry, I never caught your name? I’m Katara, this is Aang, my brother Sokka, his girlfriend Suki and that’s Toph over there,” Katara pointed out each person individually before turning expectantly to Zuko, Zuko hated expectations – he never knew what the person was looking for.

“Zuko…” he mumbled in response, keeping his eyes averted to the side, he was beginning to feel uncomfortable and felt a quick exit may be required sometime soon.

“So do you go to Four Nation High? I’ve never seen you before? Hey why don’t you come back to our place and you can have dinner? Our grandmother is making grilled salmon!”

Too many questions, and too many stares, the feeling of being uncomfortable had now transformed into fully fledged anxiety for Zuko, he decided he needed to leave immediately before things got out of hand, “I’m sorry I have to go now, I hope Momo keeps safe, goodbye,” he rushed out before sprinting across the road (looking both ways beforehand this time) and swiftly walking the rest of the way down the street to his house.

At home Zuko quickly reached for his faux fur cushion and huddled down into the living room couch, his Uncle smiling warmly at him and asking no questions, instead just offering him the TV remote before heading through to the kitchen to boil the kettle. As he calmed his racing heart back down, lips pushed firmly against his cushion in comfort, Zuko reassured himself he would never see those people again, and if he did they wouldn’t want to speak to him again anyway. Not after he had been so rude and just run away like that – Zuko was positive that things would carry on like normal from tomorrow. 

Funny how things don't work out quite how you want them to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not so sure about this chapter. I know people really wanted to see a Gaang chapter, so i figured i'd write about their first meeting, except i ended up re-writing this chapter like twenty times with different settings and dialogue every time. Comments would be appreciated, i'd like to hear people's thoughts on this.
> 
> Also 'Four Nation High' is such a crappy name, if anyone can think of anything more original please go ahead and suggest it, i will happily take anything that has a bit more creativity in it than that.
> 
> As usual, comments, critique, suggestions and prompts always accepted.


	4. Sensory Stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sensory moments in the life of autistic!Zuko: Sound, Sight, Smell, Taste and Touch.

It was on a muggy and dull summer’s evening when the Gaang collected together at Sokka and Katara’s home, huddled together in the living room in the midst of a loud, rather animated competition of Mario Kart.

Suki, Sokka and Aang were racing side-by-side, the triumphant final three. They all sat on the faded cerulean carpeted floor, eyes glued to the widescreen before them. Toph sat directly behind them shouting loud encouragements – well, more accurately insults – in an effort to put them off and lose their game.

Katara shared the same worn leather couch with Toph, a medicine book propped open on her lap while Jet and Zuko had stolen the opposite couch – the couple sinking comfortably into the thick cushions with Jet’s arm resting casually atop Zuko’s shoulders as they enjoyed the evening’s entertainment.

“Oh no, Sokka, watch out!” Toph screeched, causing Sokka to jerk wildly in surprise and demand, “What? WHAT? What did you see?”

A moment, then realisation hitting with the sound of a penny drop, “… TOPH!”  
  
“Keep your eyes on the road Sokka!” Zuko chastised as Sokka turned to give a giggling Toph the middle finger viciously.

“Blind, moron.”

Sokka’s response was lost to the sound of his cart spinning wildly out of control and sliding straight off the track, followed promptly by a loud snort and Jet’s concise conclusion; “Sokka sucks.”

The dark-skinned boy hung his head in his dismay, choosing to ignore the loud raucous cheering from the two remaining players.

“That’s what happens when you let someone get under your skin so easily,” Katara lectured, smirking at her brother’s exasperated groan.  
  
Opening his mouth to launch into a loud rebuttal of Katara’s assumption, Sokka was immediately cut off by the booming roar echoing from above the teenager’s heads.

“Swear that wasn’t me.”  
  
“I think we can safely assume it wasn’t you Toph. Ugh, I knew it would end up being thunder and lightning – it’s been so horribly humid all day,” Katara groaned, wiping irritably at the sweat gathering on her brow.

As the second ominous rumble echoed throughout the household, Zuko shuddered, ducking his head to Jet’s shoulder. His fingers beginning a rapid tapping against the brunette’s chest.

“Thunder’s kinda scary, isn’t it?” Aang shivered, eyes pointed towards the ceiling despite being unable to see the weather front from his position.

“I think it’s awesome, it sounds really menacing and evil,” Toph grinned darkly, “I wish I could see lightning, I’ve heard people practically crap their pants at the sight of it.”

“Sokka was certainly close to it once,” Katara snickered, grinning slyly at her blushing brother as he squawked and spluttered denials.

“Now this is a story I need to hear!” Toph cheered to Sokka’s immediate humiliation, and his sister’s amusement.

“Hey Zuko, are you doing alright?” Suki’s melodic voice cut through the chatter, causing their attentions to all fall upon the boy in question simultaneously.

“M’fine.”

“Yeah, it’s cool, he just doesn’t like the sound of thunder much so he’s stimming it out,” Jet shrugged nonchalantly, his arm tight around Zuko’s shoulders as Zuko continued his rhythmic tapping, eyes shut tight, “It’s cool, get back to your game – he’ll be fine in a little while.”

The others did as advised, returning to their epic battle between Suki and Aang.

 

\--

 

The day had started out badly; he’d evidently woken up on the wrong side of the bed, Zuko surmised.

From waking Zuko knew the day would be a difficult one – almost immediately everything felt like _too much_. But he’d done his best to ignore it, and get on with it as his Father had always taught him.

Uncle had been worried, sensing his nephew’s stress and irritability and had offered to let the young man take the day off school. However Zuko knew his Father would find out, should he skive off school for something as simple as feeling overwhelmed – well, he didn’t want to find out what reaction that would provoke from his Father. He’d thanked Uncle for the offer, but knew to accept it he’d only further be branded as worthless in his Father’s eyes.

The walk to school had felt excessively long and disorientating, his eyes squinted shut against the blazing sun. Classes had been even worse with their blinking overhead florescent bulbs tormenting him for hours on end. The pure white of the work sheets he was given further reflected and intensified the light; amplifying the pulsing beat behind his eyes excruciatingly.

He’d ended the school day in the library with the rest of his friends, doing his damndest to ignore the agonising combination of florescent lighting and late afternoon sunlight boring through the ceiling high windows. The library building was in such a position it required both indoor lighting along with sunlight to sufficiently brighten the interior.

His legs were jiggling and twitching restlessly but he found he could not stop them – it felt like their movement was the only thing anchoring him to that moment, otherwise everything would spiral out of control away from him and all he’d see would be the light and pain that came with it.

Without even being aware, he’d begun to rock lightly - feeling that sense of _wrong_ wriggling under his skin and inside his skull once again. He just wanted to shut his eyes and crawl into bed and pretend he’d never got up that morning.

After some time had passed, he had no concept of how long or how little, Zuko felt a pair of sunglasses being gently slipped upon his face and left to rest lightly on the bridge of his nose. It was Jet’s, that he was certain of, and he vaguely registered the voice of his boyfriend reassuring his concerned friends that Zuko was alright.

Of course the rocking was a new one for them – they’d never seen that yet. Jet had, the second time they met. He hadn’t seemed bothered by it at the time. How unusual he must have looked to them, to _normal_ people. All his strange tics and stims. He desperately wished he was able to control himself more, hide his stims and act more acceptably in social situations but it was a challenge he had still to meet. No matter how much his Father shouted at him.

He felt the pace of his jostling legs speed up at his thoughts, his rocking becoming more agitated and noticeable. The light was increasingly drilling into his eyes, the sensation not unlike being viciously jabbed with needles, even with the aid of Jet’s sunglasses. Exhaustion swarmed over him in his overload – unsure how much longer he could cope with one of his senses being tortured so.

A tender hand grasped his cheek, pushing his face to rest against a well-toned chest. The same hand nimbly removed the sunglasses, tossing them aside before coming to rest across Zuko’s eyes – effectively blanketing him in blissful darkness. Resting his cheek against Jet’s chest, Zuko heaved a heavy sigh – slumping against the other boy as he embraced the darkness gratefully.

The rumbling of Jet’s voice in his chest soothed him further as his eyelashes fluttered against the other’s palm, “He’s fine guys, don’t worry, he just needs some time.”

 

\--

 

_It’ll take no time at all, they said. Just a quick last minute whirl around the shops, they said._

Zuko was starting to imagine his friends, _scratch that –_ _just Sokka_ , being maimed in variously creative ways as the minutes wore on, a headache pounding at his temples and his fingers twitching anxiously in an attempt to work out the excess energy buzzing inside him.

It was Christmas Eve, Christmas Bloody Eve – and Toph still hadn’t even bought any presents yet. To be fair, if it had been entirely up to her they probably would have only been around half an hour tops. Unfortunately, Sokka had taken control of their shopping trip and now three hours on, Zuko’s patience was wearing thin.

He’d lost count of the amount of times other shoppers had bumped into him, causing him to push himself closer to Jet with each unwanted touch. The noise within the mall was overwhelming, voices crawling over each other – children screeching excitedly and adults rushing between shops, high heels clacking and rustling bags taking on a nails-on-chalkboard effect. The overhead lights were also hitting that ‘too bright’ threshold now. Desperately, he’d wished he’d brought his earphones and music if only to drown out one sense.

Wrapping his arms tightly around one of Jet’s, Zuko huddled closer to the other man – head tilted down, choosing to watch the movement of their feet instead of the dizzying visuals surrounding them. (LED fairy lights, dancing reindeer, flashing toys and a gleefully skipping Sokka were just doing wonderful things to his headache right now.)

“Hey, you alright?” a soft masculine voice enquired, lips brushing his unburnt ear.

A short shake of head was all Zuko was capable of at the moment, having lost the power of speech a good hour ago in the whirlwind of sensory overload, _Jet please do something_.

Jet muttered a soft “shit”, before calling out to the group walking ahead of them, “Guys! Guys! Would you- Sokka shut the fuck up and calm your tits-” ignoring the combined noises of Sokka’s indignant squawk and Toph’s snorting laughter, Jet motioned towards the nearest departmental store, “We’re going in there and we’re finding the quietest possible part of the store – _now_.”

Both Katara and Suki were quick to realise the severity of the situation and led the way, Aang following briskly and throwing concerned looks over his shoulder at the hunched Zuko.

“But I waaaanted-”

“Sokka shut up, it sounds serious. Does Princess look okay?” Toph sharply cut through the boy’s whine.

“Oh,” straightening up Sokka glanced to the boy in question, guilt hitting him in an instant when he realised he’d subjected the other to three hours non-stop shopping on the busiest, and most crowded, day of the year, “No, he doesn’t. Let’s go,” offering his arm to Toph, the pair followed after the group quickly.

It took a matter of minutes for the Gaang to discover the most shopper-free department was the furniture floor on the top level, mostly due to the aid of Sokka’s impeccable logic – “Who buys furniture for Christmas? People with too much time on their hands and too little friends, that’s who.”

Allowing Jet to take control, Zuko clung on, eyes to the floor and mind focusing solely upon the soft fabric graze of Jet’s letterman-styled jacket on his fingertips. Maybe he wouldn’t need to maim Sokka after all, _the man does occasionally have his uses_.

“Good idea Sokka, this place is like a ghost town,” Jet commented, his eyes taking in the one bored till assistant who was busy tapping away on their phone and the one lone customer prodding a leather armchair suspiciously.

“Zuko? Hey babe? How’s this? There’s no one around, it’s quiet – none of that crappy festive music playing either actually,” he noted gratefully, turning Zuko to face him and ducking his head in order to catch the other’s unwilling lowered gaze.

Blinking, Zuko raised his eyes to meet his partner’s, realising that everything **had** slowed down to a manageable level of sensory intake, _peace finally_. He let a small smile curl at his lips, dropping a shy chaste kiss to Jet’s cheek before wrapping his arms around the other in a grateful hug and pressing his face to the tanned boy’s shoulder – his own thank you for Jet’s attentiveness and swift action.

Relief rushed over the remainder of the Gaang like a Mexican wave upon seeing Zuko’s soft smile along with the simultaneous lifting of tension from his shoulders. Naturally, Toph choose that precise heart-warming moment to roll her own shoulders back theatrically causing the bones to crack in an obnoxious and loud manner – the sound echoing throughout the deserted store, “I could do with a sit down. Do you think we could pretend we’re shopping for chairs?”

“To be honest, I doubt we’d even need to pretend,” Suki replied wryly, indicating the one employee who seemed to care little about anything other than their phone, “I’d say we’ve got our pick of the chairs.”

“Oh oh, look over there!” Aang cheered, rushing excitedly over to a huge purple couch built to seat ten and bouncing hyperactively on the cushions, “It’s a corner couch, we’ll all fit on this easy! Plus hey Zuko! It’s super soft, you’ll love it!”

Collectively, yet fondly, rolling their eyes at the behaviour of the youngest of their group – they all took their respective seats. Animated discussion soon commenced on the subject of Christmas Day and what each person would be doing the following day. Zuko was more than content to listen, still not ready to offer any verbal comment as yet while the fingers of his right hand entwined with his boyfriend’s. He soon found himself running his free hand across the sofa fabric repetitively as he relaxed back against the cushions, _Aang wasn’t wrong, it’s so soft, this couch must be so expensive_.

A good half hour passed before the till assistant even noticed the group, belatedly walking over and enquiring if they needed any assistance in finding their new couch. Sokka was quick to convincingly debate fabric materials and prices with the assistant before stating assertively in his ‘ _manly_ ’ tone, “Ah yes, you’ve been very informative – we’ll just go and discuss this further at home… Have a good Christmas!” Making a ‘shooing’ motion with his hands, the group promptly took Sokka’s subtle cue to leave the store.

As they made their way downstairs to the second level – interior furnishings – Aang bounced alongside Sokka, a wide grin stretching his cheeks from ear to ear.

“Good work Sokka, I think that assistant actually thought we wanted to buy that sofa!”

“I really don’t know why you bothered, I doubt they would have cared less if we’d just admitted we’d wanted a sit down for thirty minutes,” Katara sighed, arms crossed over her chest as she rolled her eyes exasperatedly at her brother’s antics.

“It was fun that was why.”

“You really need to get out more.”

“Says the woman who cradles her study books like a baby!”

“Just because I care about getting myself a decent education, doesn’t mean I’m socially isolated!”

“Hey you said it, not me.”

With everyone’s bemused attention on the squabbling siblings, they’d gotten a good few yards away before realising Zuko and Jet had come to a halt near the middle of the store – Zuko delicately sniffing the air as his eyes widened appreciatively.

“Hm?” Jet hummed enquiringly, an arm slung lazily over the scarred boy’s shoulders, “Something smell good?”

Toph, having heard Zuko’s sniff decided to scent the air herself, “Seems like… cinnamon?”

With an affirmative nod, Zuko grabbed Jet’s hand tight in his own and proceeded to drag the other man with him in his eager search for the source of the delicious smell – the movement startling laughter out of the others as Jet’s (normally inspiring and gravity-defying) balance was thrown off for scant seconds before being pulled along.

After a few moments wandering among the displays, weaving between harried shoppers, Zuko found himself at a loss – unable to see or smell his way to the origin of the scent.

“It’s this way Zuko,” Toph called, motioning to her left as she led the group towards a large attractive Christmas display advertising a rather vintage theme; cinnamon reed diffusers and candles littering the shelves between grey crates and an old-fashioned fireplace. There were even a few genuine cinnamon sticks laid around to add to the scene.

“How lovely,” Suki commented lightly, sniffing one of the candles on sale.

Zuko was beside himself with utter contentment – the soothing scent of cinnamon, his personal favourite, was filling his senses and drowning out all the unpleasant reminders of his earlier overload. Jet had also returned to his previous position of casually laying his arm across Zuko’s shoulders once more. The intense feeling of easy intimacy and care Jet radiated along with the combination of warmth and pressure was creating a new level of sensory stimulation happiness for the amber-eyed boy.

Suddenly, he had the overwhelming urge to act out his stimmy satisfaction, his hands twitching. But instead he frantically held himself in place as his father’s voice roared in his head, _Not in public, never where anybody can see boy! Do you want to be known as a retard? Do you?_

Despite his attempts to restrain his limbs, it was only a matter of minutes before a combination of the comforting scent, the all-consuming calming presence of his boyfriend and the sound of his joyfully chattering friends made such a rush of gratitude flow through him that he found himself unable to prevent himself giving a short yet animated wave of his arms, hands flapping jerkily in the air.

However, the abrupt ensuing silence caused the momentary feeling of joy to pass jarringly, setting his nerves on end _…was Father right?_

Of course the silence only lasted about five seconds. If even that.

“ _Oh my_ **GOD** that was so cute, what was that?” Katara squealed, rushing over to Zuko and clasping her hands together before her chest.

“That was pretty adorable,” Suki agreed, hip quirked to the side as she grinned over at the steadily reddening man.

Ignoring Jet’s increasingly expanding satisfied smirk, Zuko turned away and ducked his head in a pretence of pursuing the products uttering his first word in almost two hours, “Nothing.”

“What did he do?” Toph queried irritably, forever cursing her friends’ inability to narrate a visual situation to her without prompting.

“He kinda … waved his hands about and did a kind of bounce?” Sokka answered eloquently.

“I did not!” Zuko returned hotly, cheeks burning under the onslaught of giddy amused stares he was receiving.

“You kind of did dude, and honestly, it **was** kind of adorable.”

Worried he would combust in his embarrassment, Zuko hastily turned his back and made to read the ingredients of the nearest diffuser - _Dipropylene Glycol, that sounds fascinating_ … _Also meaningless._

“It was his happy flap,” Jet supplied, smirk morphing into a wicked grin at the betrayed glare his boyfriend threw over at him, “He only does it when he’s feeling really happy and yes, it is super cute. But for some reason, he always gets really embarrassed about it so he hardly ever does it at all.”

Moving over to Zuko, Jet wrapped his arms around him from behind, “You have no idea how much I love seeing you happy flap babe.”

“Shut up,” the raven-haired man responded lightly, the sting taken out of the retort due to the small appreciative smile tugging at his lips.

“There really is nothing to be embarrassed about Zuko, that was super sweet,” Suki put in, an arm looping through Sokka’s as she smiled kindly at the couple.

“Yeah, and if that’s what your body wants to do when it’s happy, you should let it!” Aang added, “My body always wants to move and dance when I’m happy!”

“You’re like a centipede pulled out from under a rock – body and legs flinging all over the place,” Sokka stated dryly.

“I do like centipedes!”

“Sure you do buddy.”

Reaching for one of the cinnamon diffusers on display, Katara smiled slyly over at Zuko, “If that’s the kind of reaction cinnamon gets out of you – I’m buying two.”

“No wait-” face burning beet red once again, Zuko watched in growing horror as the group jointly reached for various cinnamon products moving towards the tills while Toph crowed in the background, “Yes, Zuko’s Christmas present is **sorted**!”

Lips brushing a scarred cheek, Jet whispered seductively in his partner’s ear, “Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of stims those guys don’t know about. And they never will… They’re all reserved for me when we’re in the bedroom.”

“Jet,” Zuko huffed, blush still not dying down but smirking daringly nonetheless as he kissed the other man’s jaw, “That is true… So when’s the next time I’ll get to do those stims then, hm?”

Before Jet had a chance to answer, Toph and the rest of the group approached the pair – cutting their intimate conversation short, “So, does this mean that my present to you will be… _stimtastic_?” Toph suggested, lips quirked and single eyebrow raised challengingly.

“Oooooh, I like that!” Sokka egged on the short girl, “Let’s make that a thing!”

“Let’s not,” Zuko argued immediately.

Cradling her purchases Suki grinned impishly, “No, let’s definitely make that a thing.”

“Stimtastic, that’s catchy!” Aang repeated the word several times, enjoying the feel of it in his mouth.

“Hell yeah, I started something new!”

Groaning in defeat, Zuko felt lips brushing his ear once more followed by Jet’s amused voice commenting, “Sorry babe, looks like you’ve been outmanoeuvred.”

“Oh god.”

 

\--

 

It was their third official date, and Jet had pulled out all the stops on this one. Nothing had been left to chance.

He’d chosen the day specifically, and he’d chosen well – it had turned out to be a beautiful springtime afternoon. Sun shining brightly, but with still a pleasant chill in the air to counteract the heating effects of the sun. Jet had decided to make their third date more personal, choosing an outdoor spot at a local park. With the picnic blanket laid out, he was pleased to note how quiet the park was despite the glorious weather – congratulating himself on his choice to do this on a Monday, when all the children were at school and the majority of adults at work.

He’d had to pass by his idea with Iroh of course; unsure how willingly the elder man would accept his nephew skipping school for a date. But he’d been pleasantly surprised to discover Iroh was more than happy to allow the couple to miss a day of school – “If you can continue to make my nephew smile so brightly, I will not protest if he loses a day’s education in the face of such joy.”

 _Such a philosopher_ , Jet mused to himself as he straightened the blanket and placed the various dishes of food in front of the cooler he’d brought. _Dorkiness and the use of unnecessary metaphors must run in the family._

He’d made sure to buy all of his boyfriend’s favourites; Zuko had previously explained to him that he was a rather picky eater – _Fussy_ , he’d said his mother had fondly called him. There were a lot of textures he severely disliked; he also hated food being mixed together or touching on a plate. He’d told Jet that as a young boy, his mother had always accommodated his unusual eating habits. However after she had died – his father had felt it was well past time Zuko ‘grew up and ate what he was given’. As a consequence the majority of their mealtime foods had been foods the raven-haired boy was repulsed by and thusly had refused to eat them point blank. After a few weeks of this, along with the house staff being forbidden from sneaking him foods he favoured from the kitchen, Zuko explained he’d been almost literally starving. Even now, Jet could still feel his heart lurch when he remembered the pained expression that had taken his partner’s face, upon the admittance that consuming repellent textures and nauseatingly strong flavours had been considerably preferable to the sensation of his empty stomach burning and agonizingly gnawing away at itself.

He’d learned to eat what he was given, just as his Father had threatened.

Happily, it seemed Iroh was much more similar to Zuko’s late mother, as opposed to his own sibling. Jet had seen the man himself thoughtfully asking Zuko on whether he cared for a particular flavour or not before cooking up their dinner. His nephew had been quick to state he would eat whatever his Uncle felt like making them, but after an unyielding look from the elder man Zuko had swiftly relented and shyly confessed he didn’t like the texture of steamed vegetables much.

“And what would be your preference Nephew?” Iroh had kindly enquired.

“Just raw would be fine… please.”

In the present Jet glanced around at his assorted delicacies, he was proud to note one of his dishes contained raw carrots; a texture of which he’d discovered was Zuko’s personal favourite. There was some dip on the side, but that was purely for Jet – Zuko was quite content with plain raw carrots; the crunchier the better.

“Jet?” a cautious voice enquired to his left.

“Hey! Zuko! Come sit!” Jet grinned broadly, reaching for Zuko’s hands and grasping them firmly as he pulled the other to sit alongside him.

Wide bemused eyes took in the picnic selection as Zuko coiled his legs to the side and let his weight lean against the other, “Jet, what is all this? Uncle said I needed the day off for something special and to go to the park at midday.”

Bemusement abruptly transformed into narrow-eyed suspicion, “Wait… Is this an apology for something? What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything, I swear!” hands up in surrender Jet let his grin turn rakish, “I wanted to surprise you! I got all your favourite foods. And it’s a beautiful quiet day; we’ve just about got the whole park to ourselves… Happy Third Date babe.”

Huffing, Zuko quirked a lop-sided smile at the tanned man, “You can be so cheesy sometimes.”

“Yes, yes I can. Now shut up and kiss me like you’re obviously dying to do.”

No further persuasion was required for Zuko to close the distance between them and press his lips firmly to the other’s, pleased to feel Jet’s arm wrap around his waist with a solid reassuring pressure. He let his own hand run up to cup Jet’s jaw, thumb stroking the skin of his cheek tenderly.

After another few moments of the couple losing themselves in each other, Jet reluctantly pulled away; his eyelids lowered alluringly, “While it physically pains me to stop making out with my gorgeous boyfriend – this is a public place so why don’t you try some of the food first, huh?”

“Hmm? Yes, of course,” red tinting his unscarred cheek, Zuko looked at each dish in turn, a smile rapidly tugging at the corners of his lips, “Wow, you really did get all my favourite food. I’m not sure where to start…”

Jet ran bets in his head as he watched Zuko considering each choice individually before reaching for the little tub of raw carrots first, _bingo! Too predictable babe_.

He offered one to Jet, huffing affectionately when Jet proceeded to open his mouth invitingly instead of taking it with his fingers like a normal human being. Nonetheless, Zuko found himself giving into the brunet’s demands.

Time trickled on as the couple shared dishes, Jet keen to hand feed Zuko as often as the pale-skinned boy would allow it;

“This isn’t a British romcom you know.”

“Hey! Don’t tell me I can’t achieve my dreams.”

Conversation followed easily between the pair, from Toph’s latest mishap with one of the boys at school – the boy in question had been sent home with a black eye and bent nose, in comparison Toph had been sent home with a large satisfied grin – to Iroh’s horrifying suggestion of ‘themed nights’ at the _Jasmine Dragon_.

“I don’t see what’s wrong with that.”

“Oh god Jet, don’t, you’ll just encourage him.”

As the sun began to make its retreating movement towards the horizon, Zuko began automatically packing up the empty Tupperware reaching to place it all back in the cooler neatly.

“Wait! There’s one more thing I wanted you to have!”

“Another? Jet, I’m stuffed. You’ve been feeding me for hours now.”

“Just, give this a try…” opening the cooler and reaching in, Jet produced a tiny tub of ice cream that – thankfully – was still mostly solid.

“Ice cream? Hm, okay.”

Enraptured, Jet watched as Zuko peeled the cardboard lid away, and pulled the tiny plastic spoon out of its coverings. Noticing his blatant – and slightly unnerving – staring, Zuko’s eyes narrowed warily, “Should I be worried?”

“No, no, just try it! Go on!” Jet urged, hands motioning hurriedly for Zuko to taste the tiny chilled treat – eager to see his boyfriend’s reaction, knowing it could only be positive.

Suspicious gaze sliding from the brunet back to the ice cream tub, Zuko spooned up a mouthful – letting the spoon graze his lips on the way out as he took a moment to appraise the flavour.

The loud sensual moan that slipped out was not what either of the boys had expected to happen.

 _Damn, I need to buy him watermelon-flavoured ice cream more often_ , Jet thought wildly while discreetly adjusting his jeans to fit the sudden tightness that now resided within them.

“I’m sorry,” blushing brightly, Zuko ducked his head in embarrassment, speaking through his fringe instead, “Oh my god, I can’t believe I just did that. I just didn’t expect it to be so delicious. It tastes amazing.”

Taking a moment to gaze lovingly at the shy man before him, Jet smiled softly as he brushed thick black locks away from Zuko’s eyes so he could no longer hide from him, “It’s alright, you just enjoy it. Make whatever the hell noises you want.”

Golden eyes raised to meet his own – considering him and making Jet feel that in that instant Zuko could see all of him, that no barriers or walls remained between them, “Thank you Jet. You really are the best boyfriend a person… I, could ask for.”

Subsequently, Jet was soon left sitting in his tank top – shirt removed and lying crumpled in his lap in a desperate bid to hide his increasingly growing bulge with each of Zuko’s erotic moans as he finished off his treat. The resulting kisses of gratitude didn’t help the matter much either. Nor, in actual fact, did the chilly breeze.

“Aren’t you cold? You should put your shirt back on.”

“No! No. I’m… good.”  
 

\--

 

“Babe, we really need to head out now if we wanna meet the guys on time,” Jet called as he brushed his fingers through his hair – messing it up into its usual grungy style.

“Not now,” Zuko’s muffled voice responded.

Taking one last look at his reflection, and winking at it ( _god damn he was hot_ ) – Jet wandered through to Zuko’s bedroom, bemused to see the other boy lying face down against his bedcovers, fingers winding the loose material between his fingers repetitively.

“Is something the matter?” Jet queried, eyebrow raised suspiciously – Zuko seemed fine all of two minutes ago, busy tidying the dishes away in the kitchen after their late lunch and collecting the washed laundry from outside.

Shaking his head mutely, Zuko nuzzled his nose and cheek against the duvet.

“Zuko seriously, you’re worrying me.”  
  
“I’m in stim heaven,” Zuko mumbled happily through the thick blanket held to his mouth, “Uncle washed my bed sheets, they feel _perfect_.”

Zuko gave a soft little moan of appreciation as if to punctuate his statement.

_Zuko moaning and writhing pleasurably on his bed? Is he deliberately trying to torture me now?_

Jet sighed lightly, an affectionate smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he watched the other boy hum in contentment against the sheets, rubbing his lips against the soft texture.

Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, Jet ran his hand soothingly up and down Zuko’s back, “Is it really that good?”  
  
“It’s the perfect texture, and it smells so clean and good, and it’s so nice against my lips…” Zuko trailed off, words forgotten as he was lost in his happy stimming.

Smiling to himself, Jet reached for his phone before navigating towards his messages, “I guess we can be a little bit late.”

_Sorry guys, we’ll meet you at the cinema later. Zuko’s feeling rather stimtastic right now._

 

 

_\--_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has taken me, literally, three years to compile this chapter. So what's my excuse? I have a variety, but mainly - life, I guess. I've been between college, university, work and I'm now in the process of setting up my own business. You all know how it is. Also, fandoms. When I fall into a fandom, I fall HARD - so other fandoms get ignored. I got back into ATLA last summer, wrote two parts of this chapter then got into a new fandom. Then about a week ago I got a review on this story (so you can all thank Wahboop for that) and it inspired me to write more, so I added a further three parts to it and here we are. 
> 
> If anyone is still actually following this story - I'd appreciate any comments/critique offered.
> 
> I do my best to write based on my own experiences, so hopefully this chapter had a good element of realism in it. Hopefully. And yes, I am still waiting for my own Jet - my own person who'll be super understanding and accommodating. So what if I'm living vicariously through the fictional character of Zuko? Could be worse I suppose!


End file.
